In October 2018, Sport England’s Active Lives survey reported that a total of 6.3 million adults had given their time at least twice in the last year to help make sport and activity happen. This is a huge contribution, with people giving their time in a range of different ways – from coaching and committee roles, to providing transport and marshalling at events.

Ensuring that volunteers feel appreciated and recognised is essential in retaining them, and this can be achieved through activities such a awards evenings, club communications or something as simple as saying thank you.

To increase the understanding of the current challenges and opportunities sports clubs face in relation to engaging and retaining volunteers, Sport England commissioned the Sport Industry Research Centre in 2018 to conduct a Sports Club Volunteering Survey, collecting data from key volunteers who run sports clubs.

The executive summary and full report can be viewed here and includes lots more detailed insight and the key recommendations to come out of the research, including the skills and experiences required by clubs, capacity and capability gaps and challenges and methods to growing and retaining volunteers.